1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the field of school admissions and more particularly to a method for identifying candidates for admission to an educational institution.
2. Description of the Related Art
Each year, thousands of candidates apply for admission to academic institutions such as undergraduate and graduate schools. Each academic institution, however, typically has substantially fewer open slots to fill with new students than applicants seeking to fill those slots. Accordingly, for most academic institutions, the majority of applicants are denied admission. In order to differentiate between those applicants to whom offers of admission should be extended and those applicants for whom requests for admission should be denied, academic institutions typically compare established criteria with a combination of grade point average (GPA), standardized test scores and demographic profiling to individually evaluate each admissions candidate. Additionally, some academic institutions also consider personal statements, essays, audiovisual material, and the like to further assist in the evaluation process.
In the past, academic institutions have analyzed the admissions pattern of standardized test takers to better characterize particular candidates for admission. For instance, it is well known that many academic institutions, such as law schools, aggressively market particular students who have scored well on the law school admissions test (LSAT). Similarly, some undergraduate colleges solicit applications from those students who have performed well on the scholastic aptitude test (SAT). Still, to date academic institutions have not analyzed the acceptance/denial rate of particular test takers to determine whether certain test takers have heretofore been successful in gaining admission to a desired academic program.
In particular, it can be said that test takers who have received more offers for admission than rejections have associated therewith a GPA and standardized test score sufficient to gain admissions to a select group of academic institutions. Without more, however, it cannot be said whether such a student will be a successful student once enrolled in a desired academic program. Conversely, test takers who have received far more rejections than offers for admission likely have associated therewith a GPA and standardized test score which is insufficient to gain admission to most any of a select group of academic institutions. As before, however, without more it cannot be said whether such a student will be a successful student if enrolled in a desired academic program.
Notwithstanding this reasoning, in view of the overwhelming number of applicants seeking admission to any one academic institution, a great number of admissions officers rely upon standardized testing to at least narrow the field of candidates for whom a more detailed analysis can be applied. For instance, those candidates having standardized test scores and a GPA which far exceed a preferred criteria can be extended an offer of admission without further consideration. Conversely, those candidates having standardized test scores and a GPA falling below a minimum criteria are often afforded mere cursory consideration before being denied admission. In many cases, only those student having standardized test scores and a GPA falling within a preferred range are afforded full admissions committee consideration.
Notably, it is a stated goal of many graduate school admissions officers to take into account attributes in addition to academic prowess that individual applicants can bring to a class. Specifically, many admissions officers aim to assemble the best class, as opposed to simply admitting the “best” individual applicants as measured solely by grades and standardized test scores. This stated aim of admissions officers is frustrated, however, by the natural reliance on standardized test scores and GPAs in order to narrow the field of candidates for whom a more detailed analysis can be applied. Accordingly, many potential students who would otherwise succeed in an academic institution are overlooked in favor of those potential students possessing preferred numeric credentials.
Though a conventional admissions analysis can suffice for many students, there remain those students who are unfairly characterized by standardized testing scores and GPAs. Despite a poor testing skills, many candidates are excellent students who otherwise can be valuable additions to an entering class of students. Many academic institutions have realized that the conventional admissions analysis can have an undesirable impact on otherwise qualified students. For example, the University of Miami has implemented a conditional acceptance program in which marginal students are invited to participate in an abbreviated academic program subsequent to the successful completion of which those marginal students are permanently admitted to the school. Nevertheless, only those students who have already applied for admission to the University of Miami are eligible to participate in the conditional acceptance program. Moreover, this type of conditional acceptance program only takes into account the deficiencies of a students academic record which in of itself, cannot identify a student who is not able otherwise to gain admission to an academic institution.